Chess robot breaks seven-year-old boy’s finger | Science and technology news

A chess robot broke the finger of a seven-year-old boy during a match at the Moscow Open, according to Russian news agency TASS.

According to Sergey Lazarev, the president of the Moscow Chess Federation, the match took place last week.

“The robot broke the child’s finger. That’s bad, of course,” said Mr. Lazarev.

“The robot was rented from us, it has been exhibited in many places with professionals for a long time,” he explains.

“The child moved and after that we have to give the robot time to answer, but the boy hurried, the robot grabbed him. We have nothing to do with the robot,” added Mr. Lazarev.

It’s not clear if the boy was given safety instructions before playing the robot.

A video purporting to show the incident was shared on the social media app Telegram.

During the video, the robotic arm — which appears to have a gripping tool at the end — appears to pinch the boy’s finger as it quickly reacts to the robot’s movement.

“The kid played the very next day, finished the tournament in plaster, and the volunteers helped record the moves,” Mr. Lazarev said.

The boy’s parents intend to contact the prosecutor’s office, he added, saying the Moscow Chess Federation will try to help them.

“The robot operators apparently need to think about strengthening protection so that this situation does not repeat itself,” Lazarev said, TASS reported.